Weather resistant game table



Jan.-13, 1970 H. w. STILLMAN, JR." ETA-L 3,489,410

WEATHER RESISTANT GAME TABLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' Filed Oct. 25. 1967 P. Sw m 7 md N .w N .P i md "mm Jan. 13, 1970 H. W-STILLMAN; JR, ETAL 3,439,

WEATHER RESISTANT GAME TABLE 2 Sheets Sheet 2 Filed Oct- 25, 1967 W M H1 M Wm B L A w L5 mm 25 HONEYCOME CORE PARTICLE BOARD ALUMINUM FOILUnited States Patent 3,489,410 WEATHER RESISTANT GAME TABLE Harold W.Stillman, Jr., Chicago, and Joseph Petras,

Western Springs, Ill., assignors, by mesne assignments,

to Sears, Roebuck and Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of New YorkFiled Oct. 25, 1967, Ser. No. 677,925 Int. Cl. A6311 15/00 US. Cl. 273713 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A game table, specially designedfor outdoor use, comprising various parts cooperating to be resistant todeteriorative effects of light, moisture and temperature variations.Said table includes, as a bed, a laminated structural member comprisinga moisture-resistant honeycomb core faced top and bottom with inflexiblesheeting such as particle board, the latter having aluminum foilattached to their outside faces, the various laminations beingpreferably attached to each other by waterproof cement. The rail is alsospecially designed to cooperate with the bed and cloth, being preferablyformed of extruded aluminum, protecting the bed against ingress ofmoisture. The cloth also is specially prepared to be resistant to lightand moisture.

Our invention relates to game tables, and has to do more particularlywith a table designed for a game such as pool or billiards, and isintended primarily for outdoor use.

BACKGROUND Tables of this general character are old, as exemplified, forexample, by the patent to Horton No. 3,323,797, granted June 6, 1967.However, so far as we are aware, no game table of this type has beendesigned especially for outdoor use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A particular object of our invention is toprovide a table of the character referred to which is so designed andconstructed as to be substantially immune to deterioration from moistureand light.

Another object is to provide a table having a bed of novel constructionwhich is relatively light in weight, strong, with a hard surface, willhave an optimum strength-to-weight ratio and is dimensionally stable,heatreflective and corrosion-resistant, so as to be immune to changes inhumidity. Said bed has value also as a structural element, apart from agame table.

More particularly, our improved bed comprises a moisture-resistant,low-density core, such as a honeycomb, a hygroscopic sheet material suchas particle board having a relatively low modulus of elasticity andstrength bonded to each side of the core, and non-hygroscopic thin foilof metal which is resistant to expansion from moisture absorption andhaving high strength and hardness bonded to the outer faces of saidsheets. Said foil, in the thickness employed in relation to thethickness of said sheets, resists the elongation of the sheets by reas nof the high tensile and compressive strength of the foil and its highmodulus of elasticity. The horizontal shear strength at the interfacebetween the foil and sheets is sufiicient to transfer stresses due todifferential thermal and humidity movements. The foil is preferablyeither of corrosion-resistant metal such as aluminum, or is treated, toresist corrosion, such as a coated steel foil, and serves as a vaporbarrier protecting the core and sheets.

3,489,410 Patented Jan. 13, 1970 Still another object is to provide atable of the type referred to which is light in weight and may be cllapsed for convenient storage and shipment.

Another object is to provide, in a table of the type referred to, a bed,rail, pockets and a fabric for the playing surface, all speciallydesigned for the objectives hereinabove outlined.

Still another object is to provide a table of the type described whichis designed to be produced most economically so as to be available formass distribution, and at the same time exceptionallyrugged, long-livedand generally satisfactory.

Various other objects and advantages will be pointed out as thedescription proceeds.

Referring now to the drawings forming a part of this specification andillustrating a preferred embodiment of our invention,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a game table embodying our invention, withparts broken away for added clearness;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view, on an enlarged scale, of a cornerportion of the same table, again with parts broken away;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view, also on an enlarged scale, takensubstantially along the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view, partly in cross section of a modified formof inner rail element;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an improved corner pocket constituting afeature of our invention, and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an improved side pocket.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, numeral 10 designates in general agame table embodying our invention, comprising a playing portion 12supported by legs 15 pivotally connected by brackets 17 to playingportion 12.

Turning to FIG. 4, playing portion 12 comprises a bed portion 20 and arail portion 23.

BED

The bed, according to our invention, realizes our objectives in being oflight weight, hard surface, moisture impervious, and having an optimumstrength-to-weight ratio and dimensional stability.

Thus, the bed 20 comprises a so-called honeycomb section 25, formed offluted kraft paper impregnated with a suitable moisture-resistantmaterial such as a phenolic resin, the flutes or air cells extendingvertically in generally parallel relation. Said section 25 may have athickness of the order of about three inches, the cells varying indiameter from approximately one-half inch to one inch. Secured as bywaterproof adhesive to the top and bottom of the honeycomb section arepanels 27, 27, say a inch panel of a well known material known asparticle board, consisting of compressed and compacted wood fibers, saidpanels being hard-surfaced and relatively inflexible. Alternatively, wemay use for panels 27, 27' a material known as hardboard, which is amore highly compacted fibrous material and thus may be used in thinnerpanels.

Adhesively attached to the outer faces of panels 27, 27' are sheets 30,30' of metal foil. For this purpose We preferably employ an aluminumfoil of the order of approximately four to eight mils (0.0040.008 inch)in thickness and of maximum hardness.

The foil sheets 30, 30 provide a number of highly 0 desirable qualities.Thus, they are substantially immune be employed if given a suitablecorrosion-resistance treatment.

Such foil elements provide structural reinforcement against dimensionalchanges in the particle board which might result from the presence ofatmospheric moisture, which is particularly important in outdoor use forwhich the invention is primarily intended. Furthermore, said foilelements provide adequate support for rail and pedestal connection, ashereinafter described. The upper foil element provides a hard surfaceunderlying cloth 33 which may be adhesively secured to said foil 30 andproviding the playing surface of the table.

CLOTH Cloth 33 is of a character designed to be especially suitable forour purposes. This cloth must be relatively strong, have adequateabrasion resistance and be especially suitable for outdoor use in thatit is highly stable against moisture and ultraviolet light.

Said cloth comprises a scrim preferably formed of a suitable syntheticfiber such as polyester, having relatively high strength and modulus ofelasticity, and low dimensional changes resulting fromtemperature-humidity changes. Afiixed to said scrim fabric is a facingfiber secured by a needle-punching operation and then bonded to thescrim as by a suitable adhesive or solvent.

Said facing fiber is preferably a suitable solution-dyed batt ofsynthetic fiber such as an acrylic which is highly resistant to fading,dimensional changes or other deterioration on exposure to ultra-violetrays.

We preferably employ a scrim of about 220 denier of synthetic fiber yarnmarketed as Dacron polyester fiber by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.,about 24 ends per inch x 20 picks per inch.

The facing material, needle-punched on a conventional machine, ispreferably a blue-solution-dyed batt of synthetic fiber marketed byChemstrand as Acrilan acrylic fiber, 3 denier per filament, two incheslong.

The composite fabric is finished, padded through ethylene carbonatedissolved in water, dried, cured, scoured and semi-decated in accordancewith standard practice, to provide a felted surface texture.

The needle-punched felt construction just referred to produces a facetexture simulating a high-priced all-wool cloth as employed in the mostexpensive billiard tables. A polyester type of scrim is especiallydesired because of its high resistance to weather.

RAIL

The rail, indicated generally by the numeral 23, is also especiallydesigned to be dimensionally stable against environmental changes, asfrom sunlight and moisture, making it especially suitable for exterioruse. Said rail, for the most economical production and most effectivedesign, is preferably formed of extruded aluminum, permitting idealplacement of material to permit attachment of the bed and cushionssimply and accurately and with minimum tolerance requirements.

Rail 23 may most conveniently be an assembly of two major aluminumextrusions, viz, a major outwardly facing rail member 35 and a minorinwardly facing rail member 38. Major rail member 35 has a relativelythin, plate-like skirt portion 40, normally disposed in a generallyvertical plane covering the lateral edge of bed 20 and having anintegral flange 42 extending inwardly and substantially normally fromthe lower portion of skirt portion and seated within a groove formed inhoneycomb member 25.

Another integral flange parallel to flange 42 extends inwardly of theskirt portion, overlying cloth 33, a plurality of apertures beingdisposed in flange 45 through which extend screws 47 which passcompletely through cloth 33, foil 30 and panel 27, being secured belowthe latter by nuts or other suitable retaining members 50.

Integral with flange 45 is an upstanding, generally T- shaped section.53 including a top flange 55. Opposed and vertically spaced dovetailseats 58, 58' are formed at the upper extremity of skirt member 40 andflange 55, respectively, seating an ornamental flexible finishing strip60 preferably formed of a suitable material such as molded rubber orsynthetic plastic, which may be snapped into place or slid in from oneend.

Horizontally spaced apertures are provided in the upstanding portion ofT-shaped member 53 adapted to receive screws 63 which adjustably retaininner rail member 38. The latter has a plurality of horizontally spacedbores 65 seating screws 63, whereby rail member 38 may be adjustablysecured to the outer rail member. Serrations 68 may be provided on theouter face of rail member 38 for biting into the vertical leg ofT-shaped member 53 to improve the seating of the inner rail to the outerrail member.

It is preferred that the inner and outer rail members be of slightlydifferent degrees of hardness, which can readily be arranged in thealloying and fabrication of the aluminum rail members in a manner wellknown to those skilled in the metallurgical art, the inner rail memberbeing preferably somewhat harder than the outer rail member. Thus, byreason of this differential in hardness, the teeth 53 formed on theinner rail member Will readily bite into the opposed surface of theouter rail member.

Inner rail member 38 is provided on its inner face with a dovetailrecess 70 serving to seat a correspondingly shaped flange 72 of aresilient bumper 75 formed of molded rubber, synthetic rubber or thelike.

A strip of cloth 33' extends around bumper 75, overlying and adhesivelyattached to the top of inner rail member 38. Said cloth 33' also extendsdownwardly over the sloping face of a lip 78 formed on said inner railmember and is adhesively attached thereto.

By reason of the adjustability of the inner rail member relative to theouter rail member, the former may conveniently be repositioned wheneverdesired, without major disassembly of the table, in order to assure thatthe bumper 75 is at the desired critical elevation to provide optimumball rebound.

FIG. 5 shows a modified form of inner rail member 80 which issubstantially similar in design to the corresponding member 65 shown inFIG. 4, except that in this case a longitudinal cavity 82 is provided,resulting in a substantial saving of metal and corresponding reductionin cost and weight.

At the bottom edge of the bed is secured, as by screws, an angle member79, extending entirely around the bed preventing ingress of moisture andproviding an attractive finish below skirt 40.

POCKET MEMBERS For pockets we have provided especially designed cupswhich are specially molded of a suitable plastic or the like andconstructed and arranged to prevent passage of moisture into the bed,and more especially the core thereof. Said cups are waterproof inthemselves and are provided with drain openings, whereby moisture isunable to collect therein.

FIGS. 6- and 7 show, respectively, a corner cup C and a side cup C. Itwill be noted that both cups include a top, generally horizontal flangeportion F from which depends a wall portion W which slopes downwardlyand inwardly to a bottom wall B, the latter also sloping downwardlytoward a drain opening D. Said drain opening is defined by a dependingneck which is adapted to seat in panel 27 of the bed, the latter beingbored along with foil sheet 30 to permit any liquid which might enterthe cup, as from precipitation, to discharge outside of the table.

It will be seen that we have provided a game table for use out of doorsembodying a combination of a number of features carefully designed torender the table especially resistant to the usual deteriorating effectsof tempera ture and humidity changes, precipitation, etc.

Various changes coming within the spirit of our invention may suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art; hence, we do not wish to belimited to the specific embodiments shown and described or usesmentioned, but intend the same to be merely exemplary, the scope of ourinvention being limited only by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a portable weather-resistant game table for outdoor use,

(a) a main table body forming a playing portion comprised of alight-weight laminated bed comprising (b) a honeycomb core,

(c) a relatively inflexible light-weight panel of compacted fibrousmaterial disposed on each of the opposite sides of said core,

(d) a relatively hard, corrosion-resistant metal foil on the order of4-8 mils thick on the outer face of each of said panels,

(e) a highly light and moisture resistant pliable clOth affixed to theupper metal foil to provide a playing surface on the top of said bed andsubstantially coextensive with the latter,

(f) said core, panels, foils and cloth constituting said laminated bedafiixed to each other by means of a waterproof adhesive cement, and

g) a rail portion encompassing and secured to said bed and comprising ametallic skirt surrounding, in sealing relationship, the lateralboundaries of said table body for excluding the entry of moisturethereto.

2. A game table as in claim 1, wherein (a) said panels are of the natureof particle board and (b) said foil is a relatively hard aluminum.

3. A table as in claim 1, having a ball-receiving moisture-imperviouscup, having (a) integral means seating said cup in the bed so assubstantially to prevent passage of moisture into the "bed around thecup,

(b) said cup also having integral means for draining fluid out of thecup below the bed.

4. In combination with a table as in claim 1, a ballreceiving receptaclemolded of moisture-resistant material and having side and bottom walls,

(a) a peripheral flange extending laterally from the side walls, seatingsaid cup in the table, and also having (b) a drain opening in the bottomwall, with a neck portion defining said opening for conducting moistureout of the bed.

5. A game table as set forth in claim 1, wherein Said metallic skirt isprovided with'a pair of inwardly directed flanges, the upper one adaptedto superpose the edges of the playing cloth and the laminationstherebelow and the lower one adapted to extend into the body of the coreadjacent the bottom thereof.

6. A game table as set forth in claim 5, including a marginal angleframe secured to the edges of the bottom metal foil and abutting againstthe lower margins of said metallic skirt.

7. A game table as set forth in claim 1, wherein said metallic skirt isprovided with integral channeling at the top thereof comprising (a) anintegral inwardly directed horizontal flange for superposing the edgesof the playing cloth and the laminations therebelow, and

(b) a T-shaped section including a vertical member extending upwardlyfrom an intermediate portion of said flange, said inner portion of saidlast-mentioned flange provided with apertures, and fasteners extendingtherethrough to interconnect said flange with the cloth, foil and panelat the upper portion of said bed.

8. A game table as set forth in claim 7, wherein said rail portionincludes a detachable rail affixed to the inner face of said verticalmember of said T-shaped section at an adjustable elevation, and saidchannelling at the top of said metallic skirt having an access slot forfasteners operable outwardly from the table and adapted to interconnectsaid detachable rail to said vertical member.

9. A game table as set forth in claim 8, wherein said access slot isfitted with a detachable trim strip.

10. A game table as set forth in claim 8, wherein said rail portiontogether with its channelling and detachable rail, is constituted bylengths of extruded aluminum.

11. A game table as set forth in claim 10, including resilient bumpermeans affixed to the outer portion of said detachable rail.

12. A game table as set forth in claim 10, wherein the detachable railis slotted longitudinally at the inner face adapted to be juxtaposed tothe outer face of the vertical member of the T-shaped section, toreceive the fasteners therein, and longitudinal serrations on said innerface above and below said slot therein to facilitate positivepositioning of said parts.

13. A game table as set forth in claim 12, wherein said detachable railis provided with a longitudinal recess of dovetail section, a resilientbumper having a longitudinal projection of a cross-section correspondingto that of said dovetail recess, for interengagement with said recess,and a light and moisture resistant cloth adhesively applied to the outersurfaces of said metallic rail and resilient bumper with the edgesthereof adapted to be clamped between the juxtaposed free edges of thechannelling and detachable rail at the top and bottom of the assembly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 861,148 7/1907 Smith 273 91,524,758 2/1925 Stedman 6161 273-3 1,652,671 12/1927 Hoskin 273 s3,069,163 12/1962 Schaefer 273 11 3,323,797 6/1967 Horton .2736X3,337,216 8/1967 Miller et a1 273 6X FOREIGN PATENTS 410,290 5/1934Great Britain.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner T. ZACK, Assistant Examiner US. Cl.X.R. 2739, 12

